Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hearing assistance system comprising at least one audio transmission device for capturing an audio signal from a person's voice and at least one hearing assistance device for receiving audio signals from such audio transmission devices, with each device comprising a wireless network interface for establishing a wireless local acoustic area network (LAAN).
Description of Related Art
In general, LAANs serve to exchange audio signals between audio devices used by different persons communicating with each other. When forming a LAAN, the respective audio devices have to be paired and connected via a wireless link to each other, and regulations have to be provided as to which audio device is allowed when to transmit which audio signals to which device.
An example of a LAAN formed by hearing aids and wireless microphones is described in International Patent Application Publication WO 2011/098142 A1 and corresponding U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/314890, wherein a relay device is provided for mixing audio signals from various wireless microphones by applying different weights to each signal. Another example of a LAAN formed by hearing aids and wireless microphones is described in Patent Application Publication WO 2010/078435 A2 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,057. European Patent Application EP 1 657 958 B1 A2 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 8,620,013 relate to an example of a wireless LAAN formed by hearing aids.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0189140 A1 relates to a LAAN formed by a plurality of personal electronic devices, such as smartphones and hearing aids, wherein two devices may be paired by spatial proximity, wherein the audio receiving devices may mute or selectively emphasize or deemphasize the individual input audio streams, and wherein the audio transmitting device may mute its audio-transmission depending on the handling by its user (for example, when worn in a pocket) or depending on the kind of sampled audio signal.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0321112 A1 relates to a method of selecting an audio stream from a number of audio streams provided to a portable audio device, wherein the audio stream may be selected based on the signal strength of wireless connections, the direction in which the device is pointed, and images obtained from a camera; the audio receiving device may be a smartphone which transmits the received selected audio stream to a hearing aid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,187 B2 relates to a method of locating an electromagnetic or acoustic signal source depending on its angular location.
International Patent Application Publication WO 2011/015675 A2 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 9,215,535 relate to a binaural hearing aid system and a wireless microphone, wherein the angular location of the wireless microphone is estimated in order to supply the received audio signal in such a manner to the hearing aids that an angular location impression corresponding to the estimated angular location of the wireless microphone is simulated.